CPAC 2014: The final scorecard

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Rand Paul romped, Ted Cruz flopped. Chris Christie made nice with the right and Marco Rubio learned that talking up foreign interventionism is about the last way to win over the crowd.

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Paul showed again that the conference – filled with young, libertarian leaning Republicans – is his home field and then some. The Kentucky senator won the conference straw poll with 31 percent, nearly tripling the vote count for Cruz, the second place finisher. Rubio finished seventh, after almost beating Paul in the CPAC straw poll a year ago.

Take the results for what they are; the crowd here is a slice of the GOP base, not representative of it. But it does offer one indication of who’s exciting conservatives as 2016 speculation heats up.

With that in mind, here’s our look at who won and who lost at the three-day confab.

WINNERS —

Rick Perry

The base still does not take the Texas governor seriously as a 2016 presidential contender (he only got 3 percent in the straw poll), but he went a long way at this conference toward rehabilitating the “oops” reputation he earned during his disastrous 2012 campaign.

Perry, at ease with his status as a lame duck in the Lone Star State, was a fan favorite. He got a 9 a.m. Friday speaking slot but gave a barn-burner of a speech that brought everyone to their feet. His proclamation that “it’s time for a little rebellion on the battlefield of ideas” became a rallying cry of the whole convention. Even Newt Gingrich, a 2012 rival, started his Saturday remarks by quoting Perry.

Acting like a guy who’d rather be nowhere else, Perry lingered with conservative talk radio hosts, took selfies with fans and popped up at several parties. Whether he seeks the nomination again or not, he is clearly someone who will be on the national stage for a while longer.

Chris Christie

Christie wasn’t even invited to CPAC last year; this year the New Jersey governor got what he needed out of the conference. After a year in the doghouse with the base over his embrace of President Barack Obama before the 2012 election, Christie made sure to serve up biting criticism of the president and the media. To no one’s surprise, he made no mention of the traffic scandal that has badly tarnished his image.

Christie also focused on areas where he’s in sync with conservative activists, recounting his battle with public employee unions and volunteering that he opposes abortion rights.

The widely-read Drudge Report, which has been quite critical of the governor during his bridge scandal, played up the standing ovation he got Thursday.

Ultimately, of course, CPAC is not really Christie’s crowd. So his fourth place finish in the straw poll (with 8 percent) was respectable.

Rick Santorum

The last man standing against Romney in 2012 is positioning himself to run as the populist alternative to the libertarian Paul and whoever emerges as the establishment favorite.

With 7 percent, he essentially tied Christie after giving a speech aimed squarely at the New Jersey governor’s electability pitch. Notably, the only other serious contender directly from the social-conservative wing of the party, 2008 contender Mike Huckabee, registered at just 2 percent in the straw poll.

There was noticeable chatter that Huckabee’s speech was flat and that the Fox News host looks anything but serious about launching another run for office.

Santorum, who has written a new campaign-style book called “Blue Collar Conservatives” that comes out late next month, is becoming much smoother on the stump. The former Pennsylvania senator sounds genuinely more empathetic when he talks about the working class than he did on the trail two years ago.

Scott Walker

The governor of Wisconsin, facing a competitive reelection campaign in his blue state, skipped this year’s conference but was still a star, tying Santorum.

One of the biggest cheers during Christie’s speech came when he noted that teacher union membership in Wisconsin has declined 60 percent because Walker’s collective bargaining reform made it voluntary.